The Three Tenors of the Baroque-alypse

Ian Bostridge writes about a troika of singers that fired opera stages and composers’ imaginations in the early 1700s: Francesco Borosini, for whom Handel wrote two of his greatest operatic roles (Bajazet and Grimoaldo); Annibale Pio Fabri, another Handel regular and one of Vivaldi’s top stars; and John Beard, a London theater star who sang the heroes in many of Handel’s late oratorios.

NYC Denies Guggenheim Permit To Build Better Hot Dog Stand

The museum had “asked the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for permission to construct a permanent food kiosk outside its entrance on Fifth Avenue at 89th Street. Its architects envisioned a sleek alternative to all those blue and yellow umbrellas, one that might possibly propel a few carts to seek alternative feeding grounds down the avenue.”

Hockey Musical Screws Up History (“We’re Idiots!”)

The would-be Canadian ice-rink anthem Hockey, the Greatest Game in the Land was poised to be a breakaway hit, but instead has clanked off the crossbar. When apprised of the hockey-lore inaccuracy, the film’s director, Michael McGowan, was stunned. “Oh my God, we’re screwed,” he groaned. “He [Bobby Orr] didn’t play in ’72? Well, then, we’re idiots basically. You can write that we’re complete morons.”

At Stake: UK Funding Cuts Provoke Culture War

“It’s disturbing how easily the coalition has played a game of divide and rule. Each sector of public-funded Britain has fought its own battle in isolation from the rest. This means that in effect, museums have competed with scientists, theatres with universities. Do I want Britain’s museums to stay free and strong? Yes. But not at the expense of the destruction of scientific research or university teaching.”

Inside The UK Arts Funding Cuts

“There was a mixed reaction from the cultural world to the planned cuts, with national museums breathing a sigh of relief that they will get off lightly with a 15% cut, and those in the arts – including theatre, music, dance, opera and festivals – contemplating what National Theatre director Nicholas Hytner called a “dismaying” 30% cut to Arts Council England (ACE).”